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Dart Story, scene 0
Please respond by editing this page, just don't delete anything Afterlife Location: The Prison of Souls Date 30/12/756 To Dart, from Narrator Your mind clears up. Bruno, Suri and Mika are lying around you, slowly coming to life, all dressed, like you, in their sleeping garments. Arin is nowhere to be seen. But where are you? The sky is pitch black, though there is light enough to see to the end of the horizon. The scene reminds you of the old imperial engravings of farming slaves. As far as you can see there are crowds and crowds of people, of all ages and both genders, dressed in nothing but sleeveless tunics fastened with a coarse cord. Some bear irons on their wrists and chains attached to their feet, all are under the ever watchful eyes of geevils bearing whips, man-catchers and spears. The slaves, if that's who they are, are tending to large fields of black crops. Far away, to your right, lays a gray city filled with chimneys and to your left, on the distance, a mound bristled with crosses bearing many struggling victims and falling corpses. Mika begins to sob in panic, as a figure approaches you. Yet it soon becomes apparent it is not one of those geevils nor one of the slaves. His hair is brownish and shiny, his skin darkened by the sun, his legs strong, his magnificent shoes ---made of shining gold thread--- look well-worn. His clothes are all silk and a metal, more precious than gold, unknown to humanity. On his head a wide brimmed hat of ancient manufacture, on his hand a walking stick, and hanging from his shoulder a haversack made of spider web. Could he be...? --- Greetings, my favored ones. Ease your fears, I bear you the gift of a new life. My name, shall I say, is the Traveler, the Trickster, the teller of stories, who looks kindly on children and shows the ways or Azari as I am known around you. Welcome to The Prison of Souls where sinners pay their wrong doing before they can return into the world. --- To continue their penance. ---Another figure, shielded by the splendor of Azari's shining body, has appeared to interrupt him. This one is dressed in dark gray and iron. His skin is crisscrossed with scars, three eyes are on his face, a bandaged injury bleeding from his right shoulder. This is a geevil, Pazuar, whom you all know from your nightmares. His pain is a consequence of your sins, every little lie, every small robbery, he all suffers, along with other many sinners assigned to him. And he'll be waiting for you, unless you can, somehow pay your debt of karma to him. Pazuar's voice is dry, serious, bearing little emotion, yet his eyes show a single word to each of you: guilty. There's no way to lie, that wound on his shoulder, that was you when you stole from that rich kid last week. --- Greetings Pazuar, ---say Azari--- I thank you for your help in showing other ways. --- Greetings, you exalted one, ---Pazuar says while kneeling--- I bear no pleasure on punishing sinners and especially not these children whom I've known from their first day. Please tell them not to die soon, not in their stained hearts, or they shall know my whip. --- This is the opportunity I bring you my favored ones, a new way towards a clean heart, your fate and that of the world lies on it. --- Every soul is the whole world. ---The sentence, on Pazuar's lip, sounds both a blessing as a curse. --- Now, my servant, is the prisoner ready? --- She is. --- Lead us to her. Trembling you all get as close as Azari as you can, bearing the fear of the gods on your body, all very silent, as the cracks of the whips and the lamentations of the captives break your hearts. But who's that? A boy of seventeen looks at you, ---Bruno!, Suri!, Dart!, Mika!, no, no please, not this soon. ---His on tears, a geevil rushes with the whip but is cut short by Pazuar's stare ---Leave him rest, this good for his karma---. This is Arkws, the boy who lead you, still bearing the mark from his hanging, some two years ago. From Dart to Narrator * I try to make a run for Arkws, while shouting: "Don't hurt him! Why are you hurting him? Hasn't he been punished enough by being hanged at only 17 years old? I'm sure it's not his fault what happened during that robbery. And why are we here anyway? Are we dead? What happened?" * I suppose the other kids will probably try to shut me down, as they are afraid I may be angering Azari and Pazuar. I myself am not so sure anymore after my initial outburst either and I'll cringe in fear if anybody approaches me, expecting to get a good slap in the face or worst. Damn my big mouth! Why do I always talk back when I should keep my mouth shut!? From Narrator to Dart As you guessed, your friends quickly hold you down, all quivering in fear. Azari closes his eyes and addresses Pazuar, ---For my sake, do not count his boy's transgression. "I shall suffer to bear it, but let me scold him. Mortal, how do you know what that boy did or planned to do but never had the chance or the bravery to do? Did you know the innermost of his thoughts? The Exalted Ones know, because they can read the thoughts of your lot, I know because I suffered them, each one of his lies, of his sins, of his crimes, every time he planned to do something to you or to anybody else I did pay the price in pain. Yet I am not the servant of Revenge but Justice and above all his suffering now is his hope of not ending in Anelpida, hell as you know it, where there's no hope. You don't want to see him suffer? That's good. Sacrifice to us your best actions, your own karma. Now, let's go on, I hope you have learned something." You just nod, almost in tears as you see the soul of poor Arkws haste back to his work. Then you join the others in a walk towards a pit where the soul of a woman is digging for coal. Could she be...? No? Auntie! It's auntie, her eyes as mischievous as ever, even though she's working alone with irons biting on his ankles. ---Hello, boys and girls. Long time didn't see you, huh? Bruno is about to answer when Pazuar cuts everybody with his retort. ---Spare us your chat, mother of sinners. His Exalted Divinity might have granted you the chance to re-incarnate way before you deserve, but it was for a reason. Stick to it. ---Very well, master, very well. I'll be meek for once. I'll be a good little girl. Very well. There's a treasure, you see, a treasure I hid at The Pups. It's all I got from my job. And there are things there, most you should not touch, for that would be stealing, and we don't do that, do we? ---Pazuar felt a burning on his ass but kept his peace.--- No, well, if you do steal from me, even if I lost all memories of my past life, I shall come and get you. Just kidding, or maybe not. Ha! Kids... but there's something from each of you. Bruno, there's that book the nun took you. It was too good for you, you couldn't really read so I kept it. His Exalted Divinity Azuar wants you to take it back and maybe read it. Not a good read, I wouldn't give a fu... but anyway, do what you please... Suri, there's a pouch with four coins, your mom's dowry, I was supposed to find you a home but didn't and that's why I'm here, among other little sins. And you Dart, my dear Dart you were always my favorite. Your mom? I never really knew her... not at all I mean, I told you stories, very nice stories of adventure, so good that I took a bit of something you had, just a small compensation for all my trouble, feeding you and all that drudgery... Your eyes are aflame, but the sight of Pazuar keeps your temper at bay. Oh, don't you stare at this poor prisoner with such hate. Not good for your karma. See I found you a destitute waif, walking barefoot on the snowy cobbled stones of our sinful city. There was nothing on you but a baby's tunic and a small pendant of celestial blue. ---Quiet now, ---sais Pazuar. ---Very well, my favored ones, ---says Azuar in his sweet voice. Your time on this plane is running short. Ask a last question if you so wish or hold your peace until a better time. Dart to Narrator Dart showed he would spare no thought to bitterness or reproached but focused just on what it mattered to him. "Auntie, what happened with the pendant? Does it still exist? Maybe, it has an inscription on it? Can I still find it somewhere?" ---It's in my treasure, in The Pups, were you not listening to me? Ha! Why should I care? Bruno prefers not to approach whom he always called, when Auntie wasn't around, the witch. Instead, he addresses the immortals. --- Sirs, why have you brought us here? Pazuar breathed as if it was all very self-evident. Azuar smiled. ---This is not Hell, not yet, not if we win. You see there's a eternal struggle between good and evil and evil's winning. So it is important for the likes of me to show the way of life to all. ---But, what...? ---Find what belongs to you, you'll know from there. Homework Go to Scene 1